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MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech a perfect example of the power of oration, Toastmasters' official says

Remember Martin Luther King Jr. today by his famous speach

By JOHN HILTON Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
01/20/2014 10:16:06 AM EST

Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd gathered for his I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. (The Associated Press fire images)

York, PA -

From his position at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, the Rev. Charles W. Holsinger expected to hear a great speech from Dr. Martin Luther King.

He had heard him speak before and was well aware of King's reputation as an orator when inspired. On this day, Aug. 28, 1963, King was inspired by roughly 200,000 people gathered for the great civil rights march on Washington, D.C.

It was the apex of the movement and King knew it was big -- big enough that he went off script for much of the speech and spoke from the heart.

"He literally formed the speech while he was up there," Holsinger said. "I did not expect him to be as brilliant as he was in what he said and how he said it. ... It was just a marvelous kind of experience."

A Presbyterian pastor at the time, and director of a five-church parish in Rural Valley, Pa., Holsinger said he felt the "moral, social, and theological necessity to participate in the march on Washington."

Having already used his vacation time, he needed the approval of the Presbyterian governing body for the time off to see the speech or attend the march. Holsinger presented his request and, after about an hour of discussion with no answer, he announced he was going to Washington with or without the blessing of his church. His trip was approved.

"It was an awe-inspiring experience," said Holsinger, who lives in Springfield Township.

A speech delivered with power and emotion has the ability to mobilize people to act, said Dilip R. Abayasekara, former president of Toastmasters International. King's speech is perhaps the best example of this, he added.

"This was a very well-crafted speech because he was speaking to both blacks and whites," said Abayasekara, of Camp Hill. "He knew it was a speech for the nation and he needed to reach people who doubted him, but not insult anybody."

Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. (The Associated Press fire images)

Abayasekara, who launched a professional speaking business in 1994, said King is a model he constantly refers to in his lessons on excellence in public speaking.

Memorable tactics

King's "I Have a Dream" speech is fondly remembered for a few reasons, Abayasekara said. While King had confidence in his scripted speech, he gained a spontaneous emotional lift from singer Mahalia Jackson, sitting nearby.

"She had heard him many times before," Abayasekara said. "There was a speech he had given about 'the dream' and she called out to him 'Tell them about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream.'"

That sent King in another direction and he pulled together themes from several speeches he had delivered. He spoke using anaphora -- the repetition of a word or phrase -- to give the speech a lyrical quality. For example, King started eight different sentences with "I have a dream."

But what makes the speech one of the best ever is King's use of imagery and metaphors, Abayasekara said.

"King was a master at creating vivid images in the minds of the audience by the choice of words he used," he said. "He knew how to touch the human heart and evoke the human imagination. He was a master at that. And that's what drove his oration way above the ordinary."

For example, King didn't just say that he dreamed of a day when descendants of former slaves and slave owners will get along. He used imagery: "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

Michael Breighner, 61, remembers hearing the speech as a young man.

"When that man was on the Lincoln Memorial speaking, he had everybody spellbound, because the words were truly his, but spoken through God," said Breighner, of Oxford Township, Adams County.

'He makes sense'

Finally, King was also practical with his words, Abayasekara said. Committed to nonviolent protest, he maintained a firm insistence on equal rights while trying to work with a white America.

"He did not come across as painting African-Americans as wanting a handout," Abayasekara said. "He was far above that. He made white people who were listening think, 'yeah, he makes sense.'"

The speech ended perfectly, he added. King's "Free at last! Free at last!" chant was repeated by South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela during his 1994 inauguration as president of the country.

The timeless quality of the speech comes via its connection with the audience, Abayasekara said.

"This is a man who understood not just the power of words, but he understood human nature and he understood that all of us aspire to be something better than we are," he said.

King biography

Martin Luther King Jr. was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers. He grew up in Atlanta, Ga., in the 1930s and '40s. His parents weren't rich, but they did have a car and a piano.

King and his siblings liked board games. His favorite was Monopoly. Like other kids, he had chores. His sister complained that when it was his turn to do dishes, he would hide in the bathroom.

King grew up in a segregated time. When he was 14, he traveled 90 miles with his teacher to a speech contest. On the way home, the bus driver made them stand so that white riders could sit. "It was the angriest I have ever been," he later wrote.

King wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. He wanted to help people. He was already a powerful speaker. His college teachers showed him he could change people's lives by becoming a preacher. So he did. In 1954, at age 25, he became pastor of a church in Montgomery, Ala.

King believed nonviolent protest was the way to react to evil and wrongdoing. The next year, when a black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, King led a citywide protest. Black people refused to ride city buses until all riders were treated the same. It took many months, but that finally happened.

Civil rights protests spread to other cities and states. King helped start a group called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and he became known across the country. His supporters held nonviolent "sit-ins" at segregated stores and other places.

King was arrested more than 20 times for his activism. His house was bombed. But he kept preaching nonviolence. In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Just 35, he was then the youngest person to win the award.

Four years later, he was in Memphis, Tenn., for a workers' rally when he was shot and killed.

In 2011, 48 years after the March on Washington, a memorial to King was dedicated not far from the Lincoln Memorial, where he uttered the famous words "I have a dream . . . ."

Source: The Washington Post

Anniversary events

Check out these events related to the March on Washington anniversary:

--- "Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963." Stories and artifacts from years of struggles for black Americans. Through Sept. 7, 2014. National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, Washington. Info: 202-633-1000 or americanhistory.si.edu. Free.

--- "A Day Like No Other: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington." Black-and-white images show who attended the march. Through March 1. Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE, Washington. Info: 202-707-8938 or www.loc.gov. Free.

--- "Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement." Student leaders played a role in the March on Washington. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington. Info: 202-292-6100 or visit www.newseum.org.

Source: The Washington Post

50 years later: They stood for change

WASHINGTON -- Imagine standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking out toward the Washington Monument. A huge crowd has gathered -- more than 200,000 people -- from all across the nation. They fan out around the Reflecting Pool, to the base of the monument and beyond.

It's August 1963, and people have come to Washington to demand change. In some parts of the country, black people are not treated the same as white people. The marchers want that to end. They want fair and equal treatment for everyone, no matter the color of their skin. They are part of a growing force called the civil rights movement.

By bus, train and plane, they have come to Washington. Some arrive by car, and one even roller-skates into town. Now they are all on the national Mall. For more than five hours they have been marching, singing, praying and listening to speeches.

You are the last speaker on this tiring but exciting day. How will you stir the crowd? As recently as last night, you told a friend you still didn't know exactly what you would say. But now, here you are. Everyone's eyes are on you. If you are nervous -- who wouldn't be? -- you don't show it.

You are the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and you are about to give one of the most famous speeches in American history. It will be known as the "I Have a Dream" speech.

For many, it will be the high point of the entire civil rights movement.

The year 1963 marked the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, in which President Abraham Lincoln declared that all slaves in the South were freed. But in some ways, life in the 20th century wasn't much better for black people.

"White Only" signs hung over drinking fountains and doorways in several states. Many hotels would not rent rooms to black people. The best jobs went to whites. In some places, black people were not allowed to vote.

Schools, churches, buses and trains, movie theaters and even professional sports teams all were segregated at some point in U.S. history.

The 1950s and '60s featured a big push for equality. King, the son of a Baptist minister and a minister himself, was a leader in this fight for civil rights. He preached the power of love over hate. He urged people to challenge unfair laws and actions, but to do so peacefully. King said black people should work with white people to gain equality.

Not everyone agreed with King, but there was no doubt that his was a powerful voice.

Several civil rights milestones happened in the decade before the 1963 rally in Washington. Among them:

The U.S. Supreme Court said "separate but equal" schools for white and black children were illegal. Then Rosa Parks, who was black, refused to give up her bus seat to a white rider in Montgomery, Ala. Her case and others led to a court ruling that segregation on buses was illegal.

Across the South, rallies were held to protest other forms of segregation, including keeping black people from voting. There were "sit-in" protests at segregated lunch counters, libraries, parks and other public places. In Birmingham, Ala., police dogs and water cannons were turned on protesters; more than 1,000 people, including King, were arrested.

The nation was moving slowly -- but not always willingly -- toward treating the races equally. In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy called on Congress to pass a major civil rights bill giving all Americans access to public places and protecting the right to vote.

Civil rights leaders and others got busy planning a big rally. They called it the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. When the big day, Aug. 28, arrived, thousands of marchers headed for the Mall. Many carried signs: "We Demand Equal Rights Now!" . . . "With Liberty and Justice for All!" . . . "Freedom Now."

It was the largest civil rights march in history. Millions watched on television.

Several people spoke before King. Some were civil rights leaders; others were leaders of religious groups or groups of workers. Rosa Parks was introduced. Singers Marian Anderson, Mahalia Jackson and Bob Dylan performed.

The youngest speaker was 23-year-old John Lewis, who led a student activist group. Lewis, now a congressman from Georgia, was angry about the slow pace of change in the country, and he wrote a speech that said so. That upset some people, so Lewis agreed to delete the harsh wording. That, in turn, upset other people. Because of this dispute, Lewis' speech is the only one besides King's that is still talked about.

Right after the march, King and others met with President John F. Kennedy at the White House. The following July, they returned to watch the new president, Lyndon Johnson, sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And in August 1965, two years after they marched on Washington, the group came back. This time they stood under the Capitol dome as the president signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, calling it "a triumph for freedom."

By Marylou Tousignant, The Washington Post

Speech facts

Many unique facts and anecdotes about Martin Luther King's famous speech have circulated for years. To mark the 50th anniversary of "I Have a Dream," Reader's Digest compiled a list of 10 facts about the speech:

Originally, the speech was titled "Normalcy, Never Again" and was based on several drafts.

Because of his hectic schedule that included organizing the March on Washington, Dr. King didn't begin drafting his speech until 12 hours before he was scheduled to speak.

Three people contributed to the content of the speech: Dr. King; Stanley Levinson, a New York businessman and political activist; and Clarence Jones, a close friend and adviser of Dr. King.

According to co-author Jones, Dr. King dramatically departed from the original draft, essentially ad-libbing one of the world's greatest speeches.

As he was speaking, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson yelled to Dr. King: "Tell them about the dream, Martin." From that point, Dr. King began punctuating his speech with the phrase, "I have a dream."

Many sections of the speech were originally delivered as part of a speech Dr. King gave in June 1963 after the Great Walk to Freedom in Detroit.

Because of the impact of the speech, Dr. King was named Time's Man of the Year for 1963 and received the Nobel Peace Prize a year later, becoming the youngest recipient.

The rhetorical technique of repeating a phrase at the beginning of a sentence (like "I have a dream") is called anaphora. The famous phrase is repeated eight times.

As Dr. King left the podium after the speech, he gave the copy of his speech to George Raveling, a Villanova basketball player and acting volunteer guard, who still has the typewritten text and has turned down a $3 million offer for the speech.

The speech is 1,666 words long and took 16 minutes and 2 seconds to deliver.